Advice for short film shooting on Red...

[Sam M]

Could I get any feedback on Red set ups?

Although I've used a Red on a few occasions, this is the first time I've used it in a variety of conditions on such a low budget project, so any help would be appreciated.

Short drama, shooting next month on Red (V low budget). 3 x day shoot, London. Good script, good actors, day & night interiors, couple of night exteriors.

Zeiss primes, small lighting package. Tiny crew (although some are tall!)

Initial editing/off line will be done on FCP from pro res proxies I guess.
On line and grading will be done in the future (with further funding, hopefully)

Slightly alarmed at noise in low light situations. Shot one test in candle light - pretty noisy... Any low light shooting tips or noise reduction solutions?

Redcolor or Rec or RGB?

160-200 ASA

Redcode 36?

Build 21 (can't get hold of Myst X sadly)

Should black shade (balance) be performed? (How often?)

Any suggestions would be welcome.

Thanks,

Sam

[Andrew Wilding]

set your light meter to 160-200, but leave your camera at 250-320 for monitoring. If you want to shoot in candle light, use ALOT OF CANDLES. ; )

Check raw view frequently. If your super scared of noise (though you really don't need to be i don't think) you can shoot it all daylight balanced (even the night interiors) becuase its under tungsten lighting that some slight noise issues start to become apparent. Have a blast.

[Jochen Schmidt-Hambrock]

If you are concerned about low light:
Bring a Power Book on set.
Check noise level of the footage there.
Do a 4K -> 2K full debayer downconvert of just a few frames.
Play with the footage (crush shadows, etc....)

Should give you some peace of mind.

Jochen

[Joe G.]

Thanks to David Mullen I now know that movie candles have 3 wicks. You can make some custom ones, or shop for them.

[Sam M]

Many thanks. Yes we'll be constantly monitoring on MPB and I was planning to 'double wick' the candles...

Sam